A talk by Ann Dinsdale, Principal Curator of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Branwell Brontë.
Branwell was the brilliant but ill-fated brother of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë and the only son of Patrick and Maria Brontë.
The talk considers items drawn from the Parsonage Museum’s collection which illustrate aspects of Branwell’s life. There will also be a small selection of manuscripts and letters from Special Collections on display.
The manuscripts and letters document Branwell's creative output from childhood onwards. The miniature fictional stories, or little books, form part of a larger set created by the siblings, parts of which can be found in libraries and archives across the world. Other early manuscripts in this series continue to explore these same fictional worlds created in the little books.
The series also contains substantial correspondence from Branwell, addressed to friends and associates.